1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system that allows a user who is wheelchair bound to be able to perform a variety of exercises, both upper body and lower body exercises and both aerobic and anaerobic exercises, all without the need to leave the wheelchair.
2. Background of the Prior Art
People become wheelchair bound for a variety of reasons. A sudden lower body injury from a sporting event or an accident, a debilitating disease, and recovery from surgery are all reasons that people use wheelchairs. Some people, such as those who break one or both legs in a skiing accident, for example, are in the wheelchair for a relatively short period of time while their bodies heal. Others, such as those that receive a spinal cord injury, spend substantially longer in the wheelchair and may even spend the rest of their lives being wheelchair bound.
After the shock of being wheelchair bound wears off, most wheelchair uses share a common trait. They view their situation with regard to the wheelchair not as a limitation on their abilities as humans, but rather as the wheelchair being just one more of life""s obstacles to be overcome. Such people, owing to the strength and resiliency of the human spirit, adapt to their new wheelchair environment and otherwise attack life like before and such people do not let the wheelchair stand in their way of achieving their goals.
One important aspect of life that wheelchair bound people quickly learn to appreciate, is that despite the fact that they spend a large portion of the day in the wheelchair in a sitting position, their bodies need to exercise on a regular basis. They need to kept their bodies in shape just like everyone else. Even a paraplegic needs to keep the muscles in the legs toned despite the inability to feel the legs. The wheelchair bound person also learns that the wheelchair is not a limitation on exercising, only that the wheelchair simply modifies the manner in which exercising is performed. The person recognizes that any muscle group that a normally ambulatory person can exercise, both aerobic and anaerobic, the wheelchair bound person can also exercise, albeit with some modification.
Toward this end, many devices have been proposed that allow a person to remain within a wheelchair and to perform exercises of all types directly from the wheelchair in order to allow the person to stay in shape. Some such devices, which work with varying degrees of efficiency, tend to be unduly complex in design making such devices relatively expensive to manufacture and thus less affordable. Other such devices tend to be unduly difficult to assemble and use making the user frustrated with the potential for the user to give up exercising. Still other devices, although relatively simple in design and construction and relatively easy to assemble and use, are limited in that they exercise only a small portion of the user""s body. A user needs to purchase several varying devices and move from device to device in order to achieve a full workout. While some users may not object to such an arrangement, others will find it a difficult solution due to the costs of having to purchase several pieces of equipment, the large storage needs of the several pieces and, if the person needs help assembling and disassembling the equipment to be used, the need to have another person present during the entire workout.
Therefore, there exists a need in the art for a system that allows a wheelchair bound person to achieve a robust full body workout and which addresses the above stated problems found in the art. Such a system must be relatively simple in design and construction so that the system can be relatively inexpensively manufactured using standard manufacturing techniques and so that the system is relatively easy to assemble, install and use. Such a system must provide the user with a large variety of exercises, for both the upper body and the lower body, and both aerobic and anaerobic, to allow the user to exercise all desired muscle groups without the need for a large number of devices. Such a system should allow the user to switch between exercises without the need for an additional person to be present so as to allow the user the ability to go through an exercise session unassisted. Ideally, such a system will be comfortable and natural for the person to use.
The wheelchair exercising system of the present invention addresses the aforementioned needs in the art. The wheelchair exercising system allows a wheelchair bound person to achieve a robust full body workout, offering a wide variety of exercises, both upper body and lower body exercises as well as both aerobic and anaerobic exercises so that the user can exercise all desired muscle groups. The wheelchair exercising system is relatively simple in design and construction making the system relatively inexpensive to manufacture using standard manufacturing techniques. The wheelchair exercising system is relatively easy to assemble, install and use. The wheelchair exercising system of the present invention allows the user to quickly and easily switch between exercises without the need for an additional person to be present thereby allowing the user the ability to go through an exercise session unassisted. The wheelchair exercising system is comfortable and natural for the person to use.
The wheelchair exercising system of the present invention is comprised of a platform that has a ramped leading edge and a trailing edge. A pair of generally coextensive rollers are attached to the platform proximate the trailing edge. A first stanchion is attached to the platform proximate the trailing edge and has an extension arm that extends outwardly toward the leading edge. A first pulley is attached to the extension. A first rope is slidably positioned over the first pulley, the first rope having a first end and a second end. A first handle is attached to the first end of the first rope while a second handle is attached to the second end of the first rope. A wheelchair is positioned on the platform via the leading edge, such that a pair of the rear wheels of the wheelchair are received on the pair of rollers and drive the rollers through the rotation of the rear wheels of the wheelchair. The first rope is slidable up and down along the first pulley through alternating up and down pulling on the first handle and the second handle. A table is attached to the platform. A tensioning rod is threadably attached to a bracket located on the platform such that rotation of the tensioning rod causes the tensioning rod to contact one of the rollers and thereby frictionally increase the rolling resistance of that roller. At least one stowage hook is attached to the first stanchion. The first pulley is attached to the extension by providing the first pulley with a first quick release clip which first clip is received within a first eyelet located on the extension. A second eyelet is located on the extension in spaced apart fashion relative to the first eyelet. A punching bag is removably attachable to one of the first eyelet or the second eyelet by providing the punching bag with a clip that attaches to one of the eyelets. A pair of foot pedals are attached to the platform proximate the leading edge. A second pulley is attached to the extension while a second rope is slidably positioned over the second pulley, the second rope having a third end attached to one of the pair of the foot pedals, and a fourth end attached to the other of the pair of foot pedals, such that the pair of foot pedals are in offset relation with each other. A third handle is attached to the second rope between the second pulley and one of the pair of foot pedals while a fourth handle is attached to the second rope between the second pulley and the other of the pair of foot pedals. A pair of wheels is attached to a first side of the platform while a handle is attached to an opposing second side of the platform. A bar is attached to the platform and coextensively extends between the rollers, while a lock is slidably disposed on the bar for holding the wheelchair in lateral alignment on the pair of rollers. A bracket is attachable to the wheelchair, the bracket having a second stanchion. The pair of foot pedals are attached to the bracket, a third pulley is attached to the stanchion, and a third rope is slidably positioned over the third pulley, the third rope having a fifth end attached to one of the pair of the foot pedals, and a sixth end attached to the other of the pair of foot pedals in order for the pair of foot pedals to be in offset relation with each other.